Whether you’re a small business owner, entrepreneur, social media influencer, or corporate professional, the way you present yourself online matters. It’s crucial to portray yourself in a professional manner at all times to maintain trust with your audience, customers, and clients.
When you have a professional appearance, you’ll have an easier time networking, connecting with potential partners, and ultimately growing your business.
If this seems easier said than done, here are some of the best ways to boost your professional image online.
Embody brand consistency through your actions
Being consistent with how you embody your brand image will go a long way to demonstrate professionalism. Your brand image includes visuals like your color scheme and logo, but it also involves how you interact with customers, especially people who are upset.
It’s easy to be great with happy customers, but more people will notice how you act with those who are unhappy. In fact, unhappy customers are the perfect opportunity to show the world what your brand truly stands for. For example, if you want to see your brand as one of integrity, then you’ll need to handle every customer connection with the highest level of integrity possible.
For instance, if someone is complaining about your business online, find out what they’re upset about and do your best to make it right. Even if their issue is not technically your company’s fault, if you provided what you know to be a quality product or service and a customer is unhappy, do what it takes to make things right for them.
That might mean offering a refund without requiring the customer to return the product. If the customer can’t be satisfied, then apologize for the inconvenience and leave it at that. When other people – current and potential customers – come across your interaction, they’ll see your professionalism and respect, and that will boost your image authentically.
Give more attention to your personal photos
While it’s easy to dress nicely, be professional in your speech, and keep your content clean, there’s one element that often slips through the cracks – your photos. If you’re using random images for your profile photos, or if your photos are poor quality, it’s making you look unprofessional. However, as you may have realized, professional headshots are expensive.
If you can’t afford to hire a photographer, learn the difference between good and bad headshots, and try your best to take some better photos based on these principles. Then, use an app that will generate a better background for you, like Portrait Pal. Using an existing photo, this app will create a whole new professional background for you that will stand out and look great.
Don’t post personal opinions to social media
If there’s one thing that can tank how people perceive you, it’s posting personal opinions to social media. Unless it’s part of your business philosophy, don’t post random commentary on controversial topics because someone will take a screenshot and make sure it’s never forgotten.
Ditch the stock photos
No matter how great the shot may be, a stock photo is still a stock photo. Stock photos don’t exist to help businesses look more professional. The business of stock photos was created for photographers to make money off of general shots. The fact that they’re so general means they’ll always miss the mark when you try to use them on your website or in your social media posts. Everyone knows a stock photo when they see one, and it tells your audience two things:
· That you can’t be bothered to pay for good photos
· That you’re just filling up space with images for no apparent reason
As a general rule, stock photos should only be used sparingly if you have no other choice. Technically, if a photo doesn’t serve a specific articulable purpose, then it’s not necessary. Photos take up a lot of real estate on web pages for users on mobile devices, and if an image doesn’t directly contribute to conveying a message to your audience, it’s wasted space.
Don’t go overboard with the professionalism
Although it’s good to be professional, don’t go overboard trying to make yourself look good in a suit and tie, or a nice pants suit just to keep up appearances. While it is considered more professional to wear business attire at work and in your photos, many people actually respond better to people who are expressing their authentic selves.
If you don’t feel comfortable dressing up, you can still look professional in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
